Do we have any "trailing edge/ backwards pickers" in the group?

Last week’s vote was close — the neoclassical idea won, but I said we’d do the bendy thing next, so here we are. Your challenge this week is simple on paper: Learn as much of "The Loner" as you can — and try to match the phrasing as closely as possible to the original. Start small. One phrase at a time. Learn it by ear if you can. Even if you've never learned anything by ear, this is a great place to start. You'll gain more from this by getting one small section by ear than learning the whole thing with tabs. You can watch the official video to see what positions Gary plays in, but feel free to use different fingerings if it works better for you. 🎸 No whammy bar? Slides or controlled bends will do just fine. There are lots of walkthroughs and playthroughs on YouTube (of varying quality), so if you get stuck, check those out or post here in the forum. Let’s go.

We’re kicking off this week’s challenge with a short but powerful routine you can use to level up your alternate picking. This is based on a mini-experiment I walk you through in the video, so make SURE you watch it! You won't go from CC DeVille to Paul Gilbert in a week but I want you to see the benefit of NOT pushing the speed in practice and that you'll actually improve your speed anyway if practiced correctly. The Rules: 1. Learn the LickIt’s a 12-note pattern from an old Michael Angelo instructional — combines 2-notes-per-string and 3-notes-per-string picking.Alternate pick it. No economy picking. 2. Record Your Starting Speed 3. Daily Practice 4. Final Check-In After 7 Days 5. Don’t play this lick outside of the routine. Keep it “pure.” (this means no more practice than 6-15 min) 6. Record your full starting test (slow to max tempo) so you can analyze progress later. 7. Post your starting video and tempos below to join the challenge. Let’s do it. Who's in? To clarify only do the daily routine once a day and then you do the second test 7 days later. The point is no extra practice just accuracy and then see the progress in a week.

This is the one you voted for — the epic interlude right before the solo in Yngwie Malmsteen’s “Magic Mirror.” (we'll do the bendy one next week) But here’s the deal:I’m not giving you tabs. Why? Because most of you will get the fingerings wrong, struggle more than necessary, and build bad habits in the process. Instead, watch the video lesson. I break down everything — exact fingerings, phrasing nuances, and key practice advice that’ll save you hours of frustration (and help you in other areas too). 💡 You can change the fingerings I suggest — but they’re not random. I chose them for a reason. So learn the logic before you improvise. 🎯 The goal? Eventually playing it at the performance tempo of around 150 bpm. But right now? Just aim to play it clean, at your current max tempo. If that’s 60 bpm — that’s still a win. This isn’t about beating anyone else — it’s about getting better than you were yesterday. The whole point of these challenges is to tackle something you wouldn’t have picked on your own… and come out better for it. ⚠️ And hey — do yourself a favor and don’t skip the lesson and then ask why it’s not working. That’s like assembling IKEA furniture without looking at the instructions and then blaming the shelf. 😅 Watch the video. Play smarter. Let’s go.

I often noodle with the guitar while in the living room with family. Using a metronome could be loud and distracting to family. I was wondering if anyone has tried one of those vibrating metronome watches for actual practice. Soundbrenner or any other brand. Thank you